The candidate, with a Pakistani background, told the Daily Politics panel: "Here I am, look at my ethnicity."

He said UKIP was a "disciplined party" and suggested its number of MEPs could rise from 12 at the last election to "over 30" in next year's European polls.

Angered over a Times image of Nigel Farage with a moustache, he said to Times columnist Phil Collins: "You cannot treat us like this, Would you do that with David Cameron? Would you show a front-page picture of David Cameron with a Hitler-type moustache?"

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